On Saturday May 4, the sands of JD Legends welcomed a large crowd of devoted fans dedicated to ‘80s rock, pop and early, classic Van Halen. Two bands rocked the stage, the first playing a diverse set of music from a decade they never experienced and the second the same, playing tribute to the legendary Van Halen brothers, Michael Anthony and Diamond Dave.
Michael Stephen Neumann (Roth), Eric Sutherland (Alex), Cody Alexander (Eddie), Jarrett Cunningham (Anthony,) American’s Van Halen Experience perform the best of the Roth era for two high energy, exhilarating hours, honoring the memory of Eddie, providing a retro-time travel back to the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. With six records to work with, they played the hits, classics, deeper cuts, their namesake and the tunes people came for. Neumann had Diamond Dave down from kicks, to attitude, flamboyance to wardrobe, and a full head of hair.
There was no hint or mention of post Roth, no sight or sound of Van Hagar, or Cherone, though a lot of screaming girls and passionate fans acted 5150.
From the future, the five souls of Tasty ‘80s came back to give us mere mortals some R&R when we need it most, proving to be different and diverse dressing in all white performing like the spirit of decadence was with them. Though their present, earthly vessels looked a bit young to remember cassettes, VHS and scrambled cable, let alone the channel from which aired the music they played, though no one seemed to mind and played along.
The Beastie Boys rallying war cry to fight for your right, with parental rebellion still holds true today. “Jenny” remains the most popular seven numbers in pop history. Has anyone ever gotten through? The Leppard roared a growling arena sugary serenade, in the round, as “Hysteria” sang its mellow lullaby.
They went poppy with no tears or fears, planning and playing for world domination. Every older adult in the crowd had to appreciate the ‘80s throwback kisses from a band that had to Google and YouTube the material. They found the ‘80s Cure and it’s still “Just Like Heaven.”
One of the most familiar two note/two beat intro’s from the loudest decade on record brought back “Tainted Love,” softly. Speaking of loud, glam metal got some poisonous love from Bret and the boys talking dirty.
They rebelliously traveled to the early ‘90s turning up the rock with some collective Shine then went directly backwards to moonwalking on illuminated sidewalks and zombie streets with red leather love, to be bad. The outside became The Outfield, all they wanted was love.
They were worthy support for the headliners, playing a nice companion set of surprise tunes and a nice hand picked basket of aqua-glam, strong pop, early ’90s and rebellious rap. One could only imagine what they would’ve played, besides “Freebird” if they’d taken requests.
The party arrived as the boys gave the crowd Fair Warning from the beginning going “Unchained.” 1984 called with motors roaring and tires screeching on the “Panama” Express. The world’s introduction to VH blared as “Running with the Devil” bass thump began. There was always that one teacher we had a thing for, though probably never in a bikini, but we still had it bad.
“Light Up, “Jamie’s Cryin’” The bombastic tribal drums and adrenaline driving guitars began on “Everybody Wants Some.” “Bottoms Up, They went acoustic with vocalist giving a one man show as the “Ice Cream Man.”
bass solo, “Mean Streets” The party vibe of “Dance the Night Away” got feet moving with memories of all night club days. Opinions of Diver Down are many but no one can deny the “Pretty Woman” on the record or the “Beautiful Girls” on VH II.
The keyboard intro of their namesake started, as phones recorded, might as well. One of the most famous, respected and influential guitar solos began in a slow build with an “Eruption” of notes. The best thing about it is, as years and decades pass, someone will ‘always’ hear it, for the first time and have the same reaction as those when the record came out. The Kinks probably never imagined their song would be played so loud, but with Eddie’s flying fingers, “You Really Got Me” has eternal heavy life. “Aint Talking about Love” finished up the night with a “Happy Trails” goodbye.
The night was a warm time warp for both bands. JUMP is a worthy leap back to the bands youth, when Eddie was beginning his Godlike guitar climb, Roth was the blueprint of a frontman, Michael Anthony was the harmonizing, bass backbone and Alex was hammering like the Gods. JUMP had all the moves down, with vintage Sunset Strip energy, never taking any moment or motion for granted, saying they’re a tribute band that’s been lucky enough to be in demand and travel the globe.
Images & Words – Mike Ritchie
JUMP – www.jumptribute.com
Tasty 80s – www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086669512565
